When the opportunity came to acquire a new brand and it fit into his company’s profile of owning stores in rural markets, UpAuto President/Chief Executive Officer Michael Carmichael jumped at the opportunity to acquire Hanover Honda.
It was presented to him recently by a broker representing owner Larry Lantz and it checked off all the boxes that Carmichael was looking for to expand his dealership group. He began UpAuto in 2017 and November will mark the acquisition of its first dealership.
UpAuto is based in Stratford, which is about a 90-minute drive south of Hanover, and the acquisition of Hanover Honda brings the total dealerships to four.
“That’s the market our growth plan is focusing on – an hour away from another major area of population – and then it was tied to looking at the brand,” said Carmichael. “It’s a great brand I’ve wanted to be a part of for some time. It’s been a great store, it’s been exceptionally well run, and has a great reputation. It hit on all the top points.”
One of the things that intrigued Carmichael was the whole suite of Honda products, much more than just cars.
“It’s an awesome part of the business I’m really excited about,” he said. “I believe this is a product line we can bring to our other markets and to our customer base to provide an UpAuto experience in another part of their life. It gives us another supply point for our growing used car business.”
Carmichael said it’s his company’s first acquisition in four years.
“If you take the last four years, through two and a half years of COVID it just didn’t make sense (to expand),” said Carmichael. “There were six to nine months where there were no transactions going on and another six to nine months where people were not realistic with their valuations. We’re entering a time where I see great growth opportunity. Now it’s go-time. We are in the business of running great car dealerships, and as opportunities come across our path we’ll take a look. We’re not out hunting for opportunities, but we’ll look at things that come to us.”
